Update on Turner Report book

The final checks have been made on The Turner Report book, it is in the production phase now and will probably be available for purchase in about three weeks.

The Turner Report is my first non-fiction book, following Small Town News and Devil's Messenger.

The book is a combination of the types of stories and investigative pieces I have done through the years, from my days at the Lamar Democrat and The Carthage Press through the first four years of this blog.

The breakdown of the book is as follows:

-In the first chapter, "Terror on the Midnight Shift," I detail my early 1990s investigation into a rogue element on the Webb City Police Department that terrorized minorities and the teen element, and that went unchecked until a beating in the Webb City Jail changed everything.

-The next chapter, "The Death of Nancy Cruzan" relates my youthful memories of Nancy Cruzan from when I met her while I was playing baseball at Carterville through the right-to-die case her family waged all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court and back to Carthage.

-I devote eight chapters to the 1992 gubernatorial election with glimpses of Seventh District Congressman Roy Blunt, former Attorney General Bill Webster, and the late Mel Carnahan among others.

-In two chapters over the Anderson Guest House fire of 2006, I relate how the deaths of 11 people could have been prevented if reasonable action had been taken much earlier by the state and the media, and I look at the efforts made by an area legislator to cripple efforts to improve safety for group home residents, with new information that has never been published anywhere.

-In six chapters, I examine the impact of lobbyists on Missouri legislation, with a special look at the crown prince of gift recipients, Rep. Steve Hunter, R-Joplin.

-In two chapters, I look at the role special interests are playing in the political careers of Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and his father, Seventh District Congressman Roy Blunt, again featuring information that is being revealed for the first time.

-In one chapter, I examine how people with limited financial resources have been hurt by the pull the banking industry has on Missouri and national legislators.

-Four chapters feature the saga of con-artist Pat Graham of Lamar, who victimized more than 100 investors, including singer Pat Boone and members of the Branson elite, in a company that was allegedly working on an AIDS remission formula.

-I also look at one of the most difficult stories I had to cover, when a friend was murdered by two teenagers who threw a rock through the windshield of her car, killing her instantly.

-In a lighter vein, the story of one-time presidential candidate James R. Montgomery, his return from the dead, and his political comeback, receives two chapters.

-In the chapter "Two Drunks in a Motel Room," I recall how The Carthage Press dealt with the arrest of two "material witnesses" in the Oklahoma City Bombing case in 1995.

-"Death of an Angel" relives the brutal murder of eight-year-old Douglas Ryan Ringler in 1993, the first major story covered in The Press after I became managing editor.

-The final chapter, "Public Education Under Fire" is an examination of the efforts being made by voucher proponents to destroy public education, again with some new information included that has not been published anywhere.

According to the people at the publishing company, IUniverse, a webpage for my book should be set up within the next few days. I will let you know when that happens.